Movies like Life the Way It Is (1978)
The best movies like Life the Way It Is (1978) are All Together (2012), Macadam Stories (2015) and Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987). If Life the Way It Is hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMacadam Stories (2015)6.8/10 from 204 votes
- NewestA Woman's Life (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchAll Together (2012)Also in French
All Together (2012)
Five old friends decide to move in together as an alternative to living in a retirement home. Joining them is an ethnology student whose thesis is on the aging population.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMacadam Stories (2015)
Improbable encounters bring tenderness, laughter and compassion to a world of urban alienation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFour Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987)
Two young girls meet, Reinette from the countryside and Mirabelle from Paris, and decide to take a flat together in Paris where they attend University. Four successive stories about their daily lives illustrate the very different views, characters and relation to the world of these two friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlmost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Stars of Paris (2021)
Christine’s life has not been easy lately. Her lonely routine is divided between free food banks distributions and wandering the streets. On a cold winter night she founds Suli, an 8-year-old Eritrean boy, sobbing in front of her shelter. Christine understands that he is lost and has been separated from his mother. Bounded by their marginal condition, they embark together on an emotional journey to find Suli’s mother in the underground world of Paris...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Woman's Life (2026)
Gabrielle, a dedicated surgeon and head of a hospital department, is stretched thin by the weight of responsibility. There is little time left for her private life: a loving husband and a mother who depends on her care. Yet this is the life she wanted, the life she chose. When a novelist comes to observe her at work for a book, her balance begins to shift.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBon Voyage (2003)
On the eve of World War II four Parisians cope with the impending invasion of their city by German forces. While the French government braces for impact, the intersected lives of a young writer, a vain movie star, a French politician and a young scientist are examined as they attempt to deal with war and evade German spies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaestro (2014)
Henry, a young actor, finds himself involved in a film by cinema superstar, Cédric Rovere. Charmed by his benevolence, feelings hitherto unknown are aroused, while Rovere, intrigued by Henry's dream, lives this shoot as an unexpected gift.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Indian Tale (2017)
The life of two men changed unexpectedly when Ajith, an Indian sailor who was robbed and lost everything, appears out of nowhere in front of Pierre, a single and grumpy Frenchman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Brother’s Love (2019)
Sophia, a brilliant doctoral student, has always maintained a symbiotic relationship with her brother Karim. The arrival of a new lover in Karim’s life significantly alters their dynamic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd the Party Goes On (2023)
In Marseille, Rosa, 60, dedicated her life to family and politics with the same sense of duty. Everyone considers her unwavering, until the day she falls in love with Henri. For the first time, Rosa is afraid to commit. Between the pressure of his family, politics and a desire to indulge in her feelings, the conflict is difficult to sustain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl from Paris (2001)
A woman in her thirties gets tired of life in Paris and decides to leave and become a farmer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI’m Going Home (2001)
The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. Having to take care of his now-orphaned grandson, he struggles to go on with his lifelong acting career like he's used to. But the roles he is offered -- a flashy TV show and a hectic last-minute replacement in an English-language film of Joyce's Ulysses -- finally convince him that it's time to retire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thieving Magpie (2025)
Maria, who's not as young as she used to be and who helps people older than her, is living from hand to mouth. She can't quite accept her precarious situation and steals a few euros here and there from all those lovely people she looks after with such devotion, and who adore her for it… But after an accusation of abuse of a vulnerable person, Maria winds up in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCQ (2001)
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAuction (2024)
André Masson, specialist in modern art, receives a letter according to which a painting by Egon Schiele had been discovered in Mulhouse. He finds that the work has been missing since 1939. This discovery puts his career in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUranus (1990)
After World War II, a small French village struggles to put the war behind as the controlling Communist Party tries to flush out Petain loyalists. The local bar owner, a simple man who likes to write poetry, who only wants to be left alone to do his job, becomes a target for Communist harassment as they try and locate a particular loyalist, and he pushes back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeartstrings (2016)
A talented cellist, Marie, is secretly losing her sight due to a degenerative eye disease. Determined to attend a prestigious music school, she strikes a pact with her struggling classmate Victor: she’ll help him with his homework if he becomes her “eyes,” helping her hide her condition as she prepares for the entrance exam. As the two grow closer, their arrangement begins to change both of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRide Away (2025)
From the Atlantic to the Black Sea, Mathias and Philippe, two old friends, embark on a bicycle journey that Mathias’s son made before his tragic death. The two men ride through the ordeals with tenderness, humor and emotion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure (2024)
A music journalist accompanies her father, a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his homeland. While she's eager to make sense of her family's past, her dad has an agenda of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Life the Way It Is and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Life the Way It Is?
The closest matches to Life the Way It Is are All Together (2012), Macadam Stories (2015) and Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Life the Way It Is?
Start with All Together (2012), the closest match to Life the Way It Is.
What is the highest-rated movie like Life the Way It Is?
Macadam Stories (2015), rated 6.8/10 by 204 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Life the Way It Is?
A Woman's Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Life the Way It Is?
Yes: All Together (2012), Macadam Stories (2015) and Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987).
How are movies similar to Life the Way It Is chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Life the Way It Is, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.